The issue of transfer pricing is one of the biggest challenges faced by affiliated companies and tax authorities of individual countries. Organizational structures of affiliated companies are becoming ever more complex and thus their interrelationships and numerous business transactions make the issue of adequate taxation more topical. The basic legal rules for the application of transfer pricing are the OECD transfer pricing guidelines for multinational companies and tax administrations, that define the arm's length principle which requires that, for tax purposes, transactions between affiliated parties be carried out at the same prices as would apply between unrelated companies. Furthermore, the Guidelines have two objectives. The first is to ensure that the taxable profits of multinational companies are not artificially shifted from tax jurisdictions with higher tax burdens to those with lower ones, provided that the reported tax bases do indeed reflect the economic activities undertaken. The second objective is to reduce the risk of double taxation of taxpayers that may arise from disputes between two or more tax jurisdictions over the determination of taxes for cross-border transactions between affiliated companies. In this paper, transfer pricing is analyzed on the example of agency services in containerized liner shipping with the shipping agent as a tested party. To this end, key milestones in the containerized liner shipping industry have been explored and presented, as well as the contribution of major actors – the carrier and the shipping agent - to creating value within the group. In addition, in compliance with provisions of the OECD Guidelines, a functional analysis was performed whereby the roles and responsibilities were identified of the affiliated parties in the transaction under consideration, taking into account the assets used and the risks assumed. In the empirical part of the research, an economic analysis of transfer prices was conducted, explaining also the use of the most appropriate transfer pricing method, which in this case was the Transaction Net Margin Method. The comparability analysis, based on data obtained from the AMADEUS database, resulted in a sample of comparable companies undertaking similar business activities and operating in a similar environment to the shipping agencies that were the subject of the analysis. The calculation of the interquartile range for the defined profit level indicator (margin on total costs) provided information concerning the range within which it should fall in order for the observed transaction or service provided by shipping agents to affiliated companies to comply with the OECD arm's length principle. Finally, advance transfer pricing agreements (APAs) were presented, as well as their advantages and disadvantages, which on the one hand contribute to minimizing tax risks and increasing security in business planning with affiliated companies and, on the other, allow transfer pricing issues with tax administrations to be settled on a partnership basis.